Etymology

Melanesian

M3E1L1A1N1E1S1I1A1N1

Today it means: Of or relating to Melanesia. Full definition →

English Melanesia ← French Mélanésie ← Ancient Greek νῆσος (nêsos)
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*melh₂-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*mélh₂ns
  3. Proto-Hellenic*mélans
  4. Ancient Greekμέλας (mélas)
  5. Ancient Greekνῆσος (nêsos)
  6. FrenchMélanésie
  7. EnglishMelanesia
  8. English todayMelanesian

From Melanesia + -an.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.